Euro 2024 day 18: France and Portugal resume bid for glory after England escape

France boss Didier Deschamps is looking for a spark, and will hope Kylian Mbappe can provide it (Martin Rickett/PA)

France will continue their bid for Euro 2024 glory against Belgium on Monday.

The two sides will meet in Dusseldorf while Portugal are up against Slovenia in another last-16 fixture.

Here the PA news agency looks ahead to day 18 of the European Championships.

France seeking a spark

France v Poland – UEFA Euro 2024 – Group D – BVB Stadion Dortmund — Kylian Mbappe has had to play in a mask after breaking his nose (Nick Potts/PA)

France arrived in Germany as many people’s favourites to lift the trophy in Berlin but Didier Deschamps’ side are yet to fire in the tournament so far, scoring only two goals in their three Group D fixtures.

The early injury to Kylian Mbappe was an obvious factor in that but even with the Real Madrid star limited by his mask, France ought to have enough firepower.

“It happens to the best of us,” Deschamps said. “Everyone’s been there. It can be a month, it can be four, five, six games. Okay, fine, but it’s not in a click of my fingers that this is going to change.”

Belgium need to win the fans back

Euro 2024 Soccer Ukraine Belgium — Belgium were jeered by their fans after a frustrating draw against Ukraine (Ariel Schalit/AP)

Belgium were jeered by their travelling fans after drawing their final group game against Ukraine 0-0, a result which saw them scrape through in a Group E in which all four sides finished level on four points.

Like France, Belgium have only two goals from their opening three games and fans felt they were too negative late in the Ukraine game.

“We were all frustrated,” midfielder Orel Mangala said. “Now we are facing a new match and I hope that all the fans stand with us and we’ll play with a lot of imagination.”

Portugal looking to bounce back

Georgia v Portugal – UEFA Euro 2024 – Group F – Arena AufSchalke — Portugal ended group play with a surprising loss to Georgia (Martin Rickett/PA)

Portugal suffered a shock defeat to the tournament’s surprise package Georgia in their final Group F game, which might have been just the wake-up call they needed before taking on Slovenia in Frankfurt.

Slovenia are in the knock-out stages for the first time in their history and know they are underdogs going into the fixture, but that gives them a freedom.

“In a way we’ve already achieved our goal,” said midfielder Timi Elsnik. “Everything after that is just a bonus.”

England still in a quandary

England v Slovakia – UEFA Euro 2024 – Round of 16 – Arena AufSchalke — Gareth Southgate remains under scrutiny after England’s drab victory over Slovakia (Bradley Collyer/PA)

England will still be breathing a sigh of relief on Monday morning having been seconds away from a humiliating last-16 loss to Slovakia before Jude Bellingham’s dramatic equaliser and Harry Kane’s extra-time winner.

But although Gareth Southgate’s side survived, none of the questions they faced ahead of the game have really been answered, with another uninspiring performances summed up by the fact that Bellingham’s goal was their first shot on target all night.

Southgate was slow to make substitutions but must surely come up with some major changes before next week’s quarter-final against Switzerland.

Spain given a scare

Spain v Georgia – UEFA Euro 2024 – Round of 16 – Cologne Stadium — Spain had to recover from conceding an early own goal (Nick Potts/PA)

Spain, the only team with a 100 per cent record in the tournament, rolled on with a 4-1 win over Georgia but only after being given a early scare by Willy Sagnol’s side.

Georgia have brought excitement to the tournament with their counter-attacking play, and they stunned Spain when a charge forward forced Robin Le Normand into an 18th-minute own goal.

Spain recovered to run out comfortable winners, and in doing so set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against hosts Germany.